Finalise the recall

  • There is no set timeline for how long you should conduct a recall. This is because products are different in how they are used and misused, their defects and hazards.
  • Consider if you have done enough to remove the risk from consumers.
  • We will let you know when regular progress reports are no longer needed.
  • Review and update your recall plan after your recall has been closed or moved to ‘not reporting’ status.

Checklist

  • Continue to provide remedies to consumers until all products are accounted for.
  • Tell us when all products have been accounted for.
  • When not all products can be retrieved or accounted for - tell us when and why you think your recall has removed the risk from consumers and you want to finalise your recall. We will consider the next steps.
  • Update your recall plan to include any lessons learned from the recall.
See the complete supplier checklist

Consider if you have done enough

We understand that it is not always possible to achieve a 100% return rate for all recalls.

When you cannot retrieve all affected products, you need to decide if you have done enough to reduce the risk to consumers.

Some reasons that you should consider are:

  • Has your product caused an injury or is it continuing to cause injuries?
  • What is the likelihood that the products still with consumers will fail? You can test the recalled products that are returned to you to find out.
  • Have you taken all reasonable steps to remove the risk to public safety that was caused by the affected product?

Ask yourself - Have I:

  • communicated well with suppliers in my supply chain, so that they understand the recall process by returning the product back to me?
  • communicated well with consumers, which included advertising multiple times using a range of communication channels?
  • achieved a return rate that fits the risk to consumers and the lifespan of the product?
  • worked out the failure rate by testing a sample of the returned product to see how many were likely to cause an injury if they were still in use?

Even if the recall is finalised, you may be required by law, including the Australian Consumer Law, to continue to provide remedies for your affected product.

Our actions when a recall is in the final stages

We will let you know when regular progress reports are no longer needed

We will ask you to stop submitting progress reports to us if we consider that you and the suppliers in your supply chain have taken all reasonable steps to recall the product and the risk to consumers has been adequately mitigated.

You can find information about what we consider when deciding whether to move your recall to ‘not reporting’ status in monitoring and escalating a recall.

When this happens, your recall notice is still open and remains on the Product Safety Australia website.

If we receive complaints about your recall, or further injuries occur, we may ask you to submit progress reports to us again and do more to get consumers to return the product.

If you provide any remedies after your recall has moved to ‘not reporting’ status, you need to send us an ad-hoc progress report. We use this data to update your recall and it gives us statistical evidence of how effective recalls are for the product.

We only close a recall when all products are accounted for

Recalls do not expire. You should continue to provide remedies for your affected product until all products are accounted for.

We will only close a recall when 100% of products are accounted for.

Review and update your recall plan

Review your recall plan. Incorporate what you have learned about the process to make it more effective in case there is a next time.

Review and update your recall plan after your recall has been closed or moved to ‘not reporting’ status.

Some businesses conduct ‘mock recalls’ to test the recall plan and train staff in using the plan.

Review:

  • communication methods: what messages did customers respond to, what did not work
  • internal procedures: quality assurance programs, internal policies or training, record keeping, your ability to track and trace your products in the supply chain
  • what actions you took for this recall and the issues you solved.

You can also tell retailers and suppliers about how successful the recall was and what improvements you are making to your recall plan. Ask businesses in the supply chain for feedback to make future recalls more effective and easier to manage.